Second Chances
by GalitMirav
Summary: Zach learns the stunning truth that Ethan had a twin. And when he finds the twin, he's in for a bigger surprise. Major Zendall, and some Sethan. For everyone who hated Ethan's death on the show and how it was handled.
1. Revelations

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with All My Children or ABC. (Although I wish I was, because then I would have never killed Ethan off). I am not making money off of this story.

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Author's Note: I was really sad with the way they killed off Ethan and the final words he said to Zach. I know I'm not the only one who wanted to see a reconciliation between the two. And yes I realize that the beginning of this fic is a little rushed, but I wanted to cut to the chase.

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It was 8:45 in the evening at Pine Valley Hospital. Zach was sitting in the waiting room, staring into space. Occasionally he would look over at Aidan sitting nearby, who would look over at him sympathetically, both visibly stunned by what had transpired that day. Zach being more so.

Zach's mind once again flashed back to a few days earlier, to the discovery that changed everything. _Joe Martin had approached him and handed him a small bag. When he opened it he saw a tiny device that resembled a camera. Joe then told him that it was indeed a camera, a video camera. It had been surgically implanted in Ethan and it was found during an autopsy._

_Neither he nor Joe knew what to make of that, they were even further perplexed when the video camera turned out to be a live-feed, meaning that whatever was being filmed was being watched live. The next day, however, Tad came to him with a handful of documents relating to Ethan. Two of the documents were birth certificates, Ethan's and an identical TWIN named Alex! _

Zach's thoughts were interrupted by a loud "Is it true?" He looked up and saw Kendall entering with Ryan. Both had looks of shocked disbelief on their faces.

Zach stood up and stared at both of them. His eyes said it all. But after a few seconds he replied, "Yes." Then after another second, "Ethan's alive and they're operating on him right now."

The shock on Kendall and Ryan's faces expanded. Ryan looked over at Aidan for confirmation, who nodded and said "It's true. I was there."

Another few seconds of stunned silence passed. "Does Simone know?" Kendall finally asked.

Aidan answered, "I just called her and told her everything. She's on her way over."

"Wow," was all Ryan was able to say.

"How is this possible?" Kendall demanded, shocked emotion visible in her voice. "How can Ethan be alive? We saw him die in the operating room. I mean, we buried him." She paused, then added in a meek voice "Didn't we?"

Zach answered her. "That wasn't Ethan. That was his twin brother, Alex." His solemnity at having lost one son was evident in voice.

Ryan opened his mouth to speak but found himself too lost for words. "I'm sorry….what!" he finally mustered out.

Zach took a deep breath. "It's a long, long story."

_Tad, Aidan, and Zach were in the car on the highway outside of Pine Valley; Zach had to greatly persuade the two to help him. Neither of them were talking, they were each too busy trying to process what they discovered in the previous days. Aidan, who was driving, broke the silence. "Zach, I'm sorry. I really am. But I think you're grasping for straws."_

_Tad agreed with him. "Zach, what makes you so sure that we'll find him out here in the middle of nowhere?"_

"_I never said we'll find him out here. But you guys haven't been able to find Ethan's twin either. And we know they both owned this warehouse we're going to. I'm not grasping for straws. There's got to be something in there that tells me where my other son is."_

_Several minutes of silence passed before Aidan once again broke it. "I still don't understand why Ethan had a live-feed video camera implanted in him." _

"_Your guess is as good as mine," responded Tad._

_After a second, Zach suddenly said "Oh my god." Tad and Aidan looked over at him and saw his expression was one of complete shock and disbelief, as if he just had a stunning revelation. "What if…no. It's not possible."_

"_What are you thinking?" Tad asked._

_Zach shook his head. "It's not possible," he repeated. "I'm definitely grasping for straws on this one. I'm not even going to say it out loud." He turned his head and stared out the window, but it was clear to Aidan and Tad that he was still processing his sudden breakthrough. The two of them looked at each other, wondering if they should say something, but the silence continued until they finally reached the warehouse._

_The front door to the warehouse was locked and they had to break in. Aidan turned on the light and they started to walk around. The warehouse had two levels to it and they could see there was an office on the top floor. "Where do we start? And what exactly are we looking for?"_

"_I'll look in the office upstairs, and you two look down here," Zach instructed. "As to what we're looking for? Just…whatever you think that may help me find my son. See if there are any offices on this floor, if there is, there has to be paperwork in there." Tad and Aidan nodded and split up in opposite directions on the first floor. Zach walked up the stairs._

_When he reached the top he turned left toward the office a few yards away. Through the office window he could see that the light was out, but when he approached the office he saw that there was a tv on, with nothing on the tv screen but static._

"_That's strange," he said to himself. He turned the handle to open door and entered the office, turning on the light as he went in. _

_What he saw when the lights came on shocked him to his very core, horrifying him. There, lying on the floor behind the desk in front of the tv, and visibly near death, was his son. And just somehow, thinking back to the revelation he had in the car, he instinctively knew that it wasn't Alex that was lying there near dead. Through his horrified shock, Zach was able to scream "TAD! AIDAN! GET UP HERE NOW!" That scream came from his very soul._

_He rushed over to his son, lifting him up and leaning him against the desk, and felt a new pang of horror come over him as he saw the extent of his son's injuries. "Oh my god." Ethan had been shot in the side. Zach put his hand to the wound and felt that it was dangerously hot; infection. "Ethan…talk to me. Son, wake up."_

_Tad and Aidan came rushing into the office then. The shock at what they saw immediately registered on their faces. "Oh my god," Tad murmured, too shocked to speak loudly. He hadn't been sure what they would find at the warehouse, but one of Zach's sons, and Ethan at that, was certainly not what he expected. _

"_Did you say 'Ethan'?" Aidan asked._

_Before Zach could respond to him, Ethan started to groan, regaining consciousness. "Ethan!" Zach exclaimed, clinging to hope. "Ethan, open your eyes. We're here. We're getting you out."_

_Ethan's eyes opened and stared into Zach's, hope and disbelief visible in the former. "You found me…." His voice trailed off into deep, heavy breaths._

_Aidan went over to them on the floor. "Ethan, what happened?" He still wasn't over the shock that they just found Ethan alive._

_Ethan mustered out an answer between deep gasping breaths. "He wouldn't let it go…I just wanted to forget about it…Alex wanted revenge…I'd just proposed to Simone…I wanted to move on…he thought I was betraying him…us…he was angry….I didn't know he would…."_

_Zach put his hand on his shoulder. "Shhh…we can talk about it later." He looked over at Aidan. "He's been shot. The wound's infected." _

_Aidan started examining Ethan, who groaned in pain when Aidan touched the infected open wound. Aidan nodded grimly. "You're right. Thank Gd there's at least an exit wound."_

_Tad walked over to where they were but didn't sit down with them on the floor; instead, he stood by the tv. "The tv…the live-feed video camera!" It finally clicked in his head. _

"_Alex…he shot me…and then I had to watch him…my life…Simone…in Pine Valley…"_

_Tad pressed the rewind button and after a moment, they all clearly saw Joe Martin in the morgue with a puzzled look on his face as he reached for something and then the screen went to static again. "That must have been when Dad found the video camera in Eth…Alex's body," Tad stated. _

_Aidan shook his head. "How could he torture his own brother like that?"_

"_It's…cold in here," Ethan said suddenly. The three of them quickly turned their attention back to him. Aidan felt his forehead. "He's burning up with fever. And god knows how dehydrated he probably is."_

_Zach's expression was unreadable as he flashed back to the explosion, when he, Simone, and Alex were trapped. He remembered that his son was cold before he died. "No," he shook his head, not willing to lose another son. "Not again." He took off his coat and covered Ethan. "Son, hang on, you're going to be okay."_

_Ethan looked at his father in the eye again. After a second he gasped out "Thank you."_

_Zach stared right back. He wasn't expecting that, remembering Alex's last words to him. He was too stunned to reply anything else other than "Don't thank me yet. We have to get you out of here." He looked back at Aidan and Tad. "We can't wait for an ambulance; we've got to him to get him to the hospital now!"_

_They nodded. "Ethan, can you make it down the stairs if we help…." Aidan didn't finish his sentence._

"_He's unconscious!" Fear encompassed Zach's face. "He's not…"_

_Aidan immediately checked for a pulse. "No he's still with us. We've got to go now!" _

_The three of them picked Ethan up and slowly carried him down the stairs, able to go faster when they finally reached ground level to the car._

_Tad said "I'll stay here and wait for Derek and the police."_

"_Okay," Aidan replied. Zach didn't say anything as he got in the back seat to take care of Ethan. Aidan got into the car and drove off._

_A few minutes later, Aidan dialed on his cell phone. "Joe, this is Aidan. You are not going to believe what I'm about to tell you." He looked in the rear view mirror and stared eye to eye with Zach. Both of them let the shock in their eyes speak for itself._

Ryan and Kendall's jaws were figuratively hitting the floor by the time Zach finished explaining to them. "So you're saying that…," Ryan was too stunned to put his thoughts together.

Zach summarized. "Basically, Ethan and Alex wanted revenge on me for denying them, but when Ethan overheard my conversation with Greenlee, he dropped it, but Alex didn't. And by the time Ethan proposed to Simone, Alex was furious at him. My guess is that he shot Ethan and implanted himself with a camera so Ethan could watch Alex take over his life while no one was the wiser." He shook his head. He still lost one son and he wasn't sure if the other was going to make it.

Another brief silence followed. And then Ryan looked up at Zach; the look on the face of the former was one of realization…and disappointment. "It was Alex, wasn't it? Alex was responsible for the blackout."

Kendall gasped and looked at both of them. Her gaze locked onto Zach, realization dawning too. "You were covering for your son….you wanted to protect Simone from what you thought Ethan did…" she couldn't hide the hope in her voice.

Zach didn't say anything. For a moment, his expression was unreadable. But then he simply nodded. He opened his mouth to say something, but soon closed it. He didn't know what to say.

"But why did he…"

Zach cut her off, "I don't know." He shrugged, and then Ryan and Kendall saw that his expression (and Aidan's) locked on to something behind them. They turned around.

Simone had just entered the waiting room and saw them immediately. Rushing over to the four of them she exclaimed "Where is he?" voice choked with emotion.

"They're still operating on him," Aidan answered.

"I need to see him!" Tears were falling down her face. "I don't understand…Ethan's alive? I…" her voice choked on sobs and Kendall pulled her into comforting hug.

Neither of them said anything for a while. After a few moments Zach turned and walked down to the hospital chapel.


	2. A Reconciliation

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with All My Children or ABC. I am not making money off of this story.

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Zach stood in the chapel doorway for a few seconds before finally walking to the front of the chapel and sat down. It was another few seconds before he finally talked to God. "I didn't know Ethan and Alex existed. I didn't watch them grow up. I didn't raise them. I didn't love them. And then when I found out Ethan existed, I turned him away, and in doing so turned Alex away. I thought I was protecting him…them. Instead I hurt both of them more than I can imagine." He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. "Alex went insane because of me and tried to kill his brother." He shook his head. "I know I don't have the right to start being a father to Ethan now, after how I treated him, but…" he looked up toward the ceiling. "…I love him. Simone loves him, and he loves her. I will do anything You want of me, but please help my son pull through."

From the doorway, Kendall said "You _do_ have that right."

Zach looked down from the ceiling again and quickly wiped his eyes before turning around. "How much of that did you hear?"

"Most of it," Kendall answered walking into the chapel and sitting down next to him. "You saved Ethan's life, and from the way you told your story it seemed like he was grateful to you."

"That doesn't mean he forgives me," Zach replied solemnly.

Kendall gently said "I think he does." Zach looked up and stared at her. It seemed as if he was studying her face, searching for something.

Kendall knew what he was looking for. He was searching for _them_. "I'm sorry for being angry with you about the blackout."

He shook his head. "You thought it was me who was responsible, you had every right to be angry."

Now it was her turn to shake her head. "Maybe, maybe not. Even if you did do it you would have only done it out of love. Gd knows I've done crazy things myself in the name of love." She paused. "But it wasn't you in the end. You were covering for your son. That's admirable." They didn't say anything for a moment.

Zach broke the silence. "Kendall…" He wasn't sure what to say. "Do we still have a chance?"

"Do you love me?" she replied.

"Only you, Kendall. Only you." Zach answered, but he could tell from the look in her eyes, that it wasn't meant to be a question and that she already knew the answer. A tiny smile crept onto his face. "Do you love me?"

Kendall smiled back. "Only you, Zach. Always." She barely finished her sentence before she and Zach melted into a passionate kiss. When their lips parted they didn't say anything but held each other in a tight embrace.

A few moments later they heard a tap at the chapel doorway. They turned around and saw Dr. Joe standing there with Ryan, Aidan, Tad, and Derek. "Ethan's out of surgery," he said. "He's in Recovery."

"When did you guys get here?" Kendall asked Tad and Derek.

"Just now," Tad answered.

Zach stood up, his face expressing his concern for Ethan. "How is he?" Joe sighed, which to Zach meant that it couldn't be good. "What's wrong?"

"The good news is that's he's hydrated and his fever's down and we've gotten the infection under control. But if he had gotten here immediately after he was shot we might have been able to save his kidney, but by the time we were able to operate we had to remove it; it was completely destroyed."

"But is he going to be alright?"

Joe took another deep breath. "Unfortunately, the infection spread to his other kidney. And it's failing too. We won't be able to save it."

"Are you saying Ethan's going to need a new kidney?" Kendall asked, joining the group.

"Yes."

Zach immediately volunteered. "Test me."

Joe nodded. "We already did, and you're a perfect match."

Without hesitating, Zach responded "Okay, then. Let's do this."

Joe shook his head. "We can't perform a kidney transplant right now. We need to wait until Ethan's fever and most importantly, his infection, are completely gone before we can go forward."

"Alright, then. Just let me know when you can operate." Joe nodded. "Can I go see Ethan?"

"Go right ahead."

Zach quickly left the room. Kendall stared after him. Ryan stared at Kendall, realizing that he lost her and that her heart was entirely with Zach.

Tad stared after Zach too. The lack of hesitation the latter had when offering up a kidney to save his son brought him back to what he saw at the warehouse.

_After Aidan and Zach left with Ethan, Tad called Derek and explained everything to him. It took him a little while, but Derek finally believed him and said he was on his way. When that phone call was finished, Tad went back upstairs to the office they found Ethan in._

_The spot where Ethan had been lying in was covered in dried blood. Tad shook his head. Ethan must have been there quite a long time. He looked over at the tv screen, still flashing static. To have literally seen someone else take over his life…he could only imagine the kind of suffering Ethan went through._

_He took a few steps toward the tv screen and hit the rewind button again, soon passing the point he saw with his father in the morgue finding the video camera in "Ethan." Tad then realized what he was doing was a big invasion of privacy. Ethan hadn't given him permission to watch his life like that. He reached for the stop button but his finger slipped and he ended up hitting play. Looking up at the screen, he saw Zach in the morgue now, clearly on the verge of tears. The tears started falling as he bent down, and Tad heard what sounded like a kiss. Zach stood up again and said "I'm sorry, son. I'm sorry." And then after choking on one sob, he soon lost it._

_Tad immediately hit the stop button, rocked by what he'd seen. To see Zach break down like that…at the time that "Ethan" died he used to think that Zach was stoic and didn't care very much. He now knew from the way that Zach was acting earlier when they found Ethan that Zach obviously loved his son. But to see him break down like that…never again would he look at Zach Slater in a negative light._

_Seeing Zach grieve over losing his son prompted Tad to call Jamie. "Hi, Dad. I actually can't talk right now, I'm in the middle of work," Jamie answered on his cell phone._

"_I know, but this won't take a minute. I just wanted to tell you that I love you."_

_Jamie was clearly confused as he answered, "I love you too, Dad."_

"_Bye, son."_

"_Bye, Dad"_

_Tad wiped his eyes as he hung up the phone. He went back downstairs to wait for Derek and the police._

"I'm going to go find Jamie," Tad said, his thoughts back in the present.

"That's a good idea, I'll come with you," Joe said as well. He and Tad looked up at each other. Joe clearly was thinking about Zach's love for his son and it was affecting him too. "And maybe call Jake, Tara, and Jeff." Tad nodded understandingly as they both left the chapel. "And Bobby too if I can find him."


	3. What the fans wanted

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with All My Children or ABC. I am not making money off of this story.

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Zach made his way up to Recovery and quickly found Ethan's room. Simone was there sitting by Ethan's bed; her eyes were bloodshot, she clearly had been crying. He knocked on the door frame. "Can I come in?" he asked.

Simone looked up at him, and nodded, too exhausted physically and emotionally to say or do anything else. Zach entered and stood at the foot of Ethan's bed. Seeing Ethan hooked up to all those tubes and wires…it killed him to see his son like that. He wished with his whole heart that it was him lying in that bed instead of Ethan.

Simone looked over at him. "They told me you saved Ethan's life."

Zach replied. "It wasn't just me, Tad and Aidan were there."

"In other words, 'yes I did find Ethan but I'm going to be my usual self and not claim to be a hero even though I am.'" She managed a smile.

Even Zach had to give a smile at that too, which quickly vanished as he looked back at his son. "Joe Martin said that he's going to need a new kidney."

Simone nodded. "I know, he told me."

"I'm going to give him one of mine,"

She looked up at him. It was a moment before she could finally say "Thank you."

Another few seconds of silence passed before Simone reached into her purse and pulled something out. Zach raised an eyebrow in curiosity when he saw it was a razor.

"Do you carry a razor with you everywhere you go?" he asked.

Simone moved closer to Ethan's head. "Yeah. Just in case I look down and see I missed a spot while shaving I can quickly fix it." She then put the razor to Ethan's face and started shaving him as he was showing several days' beard growth. "Ethan told me he hated beards," she explained.

Zach managed a smile. Even though Simone was doing what Ethan probably would have wanted, she was still obviously acting in shock by the fact that Ethan was alive. "Just be careful not to cut him," he said gently, unable to think of anything else.

Neither of them said anything for a minute. Then Simone said "I'm sorry Zach. I'm sorry for how rude I was to do after Ethan…after we thought that Ethan died."

"You don't have to be sorry. You were grieving and I blamed myself too." And he thought _"I still do, for Alex's death."_

"No please Zach. Please accept my apology. 'Cause if you tell me not to feel guilty than I'm just going to feel guilty for feeling guilty and where would that leave me?" She took a breath. "Please, just forgive me so we can all move on."

Zach was able to smile again. It looked like the spunky woman that his son fell in love with and who had been trying to get them to reconcile was returning. "Alright, apology accepted."

Simone finished shaving Ethan a little while later. She was putting away her razor when she heard a soft moan. Ethan was stirring. She went back over to him and exclaimed "Oh my god, Ethan!" Tears started falling down her face again. "Ethan, I'm here. You're alright."

Ethan slowly opened his eyes. "Simone?" He was so exhausted that his voice was barely higher than a whisper.

Simone nodded, smiling and crying openly at the same time. "Oh Ethan…" her voice trailed off.

"Simone…" As weak as he was, it wasn't containing the joy in his voice. They kissed and embraced. Ethan had tears in his eyes too.

Zach stood back. He didn't want to interrupt their reunion, and he wasn't sure how Ethan felt about him anyway.

He didn't have to stand there long. Simone and Ethan soon separated from their embrace but held each other's hand. Simone asked Ethan "Do you remember what happened?"

"I…don't…wait," it took a second for him to recall. "Yeah, I do." Ethan took a deep breath. "I didn't think I was ever going to get out of there. At least, not alive."

"But you did," Simone responded. "Thanks to your father."

"Yeah," Ethan remarked, processing what Simone said. Then with a sigh he added, "Thanks to my father". Another second passed. "Where's Zach?" he asked, still very exhausted.

Simone looked back toward Zach, who said, "I'm here…son". Cautiously he approached Ethan, making his way to the other side of the bed opposite Simone.

Ethan didn't say anything for a moment. He just stared at his father. And Zach wasn't sure what to make of that. But then shocking both Zach and Simone, Ethan reached for his father's hand and squeezed it, and said "Can I thank you now?"

It took a second for what Ethan just said and did to register in Zach's mind. But when he finally realized that his son didn't hate him – and maybe, just maybe, he loved him – he smiled and squeezed back. "Yeah," he nodded.

Neither of them knew what to say. Both were thinking about the time they lost and all of their regrets because of it. Ethan broke the silence, a sudden feeling of sadness hitting him. "I know what it feels like now to lose your brother. How you must have felt when you learned Michael had become a monster."

Alex. Once again, a pang attacked Zach as he remembered the son who he had lost before he had found him, and who died hating him. "That's my fault too."

"No it isn't."

"I abandoned Michael and he became a monster. I denied you and Alex and he almost killed you in revenge."

"Don't blame yourself, Dad. I tried to get revenge on you too. Maybe if I talked him out of it instead, none of this would have happened."

Simone joined in the conversation. "I don't think either of you should be blaming yourself. The past can't be…" something that Ethan said then hit her. She looked up at Zach and saw from the look on his face that it hit him too.

"You called me 'Dad'," Zach said.

"That's what you are, isn't it?" Ethan remarked, as if him calling Zach "Dad" had been something he did all the time. But his tone soon grew serious. "Sitting there with a gunshot wound in my side while watching the brother I thought I knew live my life gave me a lot of time to think."

He continued, "I heard everything you said, after the explosion, when Alex was dying. You apologizing, telling him you loved him. And then in the morgue." He looked back over at Simone. "You didn't see him. In the morgue after _I_ died, he broke down sobbing, saying he was sorry." He looked back over at his father. "I knew you had to be sincere."

Zach didn't say anything, taking everything Ethan said in. But tears were welling up in his eyes.

There wasn't a dry eye between the three of them. Ethan continued talking. "I am so sorry for what Alex put you both through." At that, Zach looked over at Simone and then to Ethan, and then back to Simone again. It must have been hard enough to watch someone else live your life against your will, but to watch him _be with_ your fiancé…he couldn't decide which of them was suffering more at that thought.

"Ethan, it wasn't your fault," Zach said.

Once again, Simone was the voice of reason. "Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. But you can't go back and undo things, so it would be better if you both dropped it and moved on with your lives."

Zach couldn't let it go. "All you boys wanted were my love and acknowledgement. If I had given that…"

Ethan interrupted him. "I know that's what I wanted. But in the end I don't know what Alex wanted anymore, except revenge…and Simone." He looked back over at his fiancé. "I think he genuinely fell in love with you in the end."

Simone shook her head, feeling dirty at the thought of having _been_ with the man. "I don't want to think about him."

"That's fine with me. I'm trying to forget about him myself." He looked back over at Zach. "And I think you should forget Alex existed too."

Zach nodded, but he still wasn't sure what he was going to do in regard to Alex, it was his son after all.

He asked one more question. "Do you know why Alex caused the blackout?"

It took a short while for Ethan to answer. "I'm not sure. Maybe he just enjoyed playing god. Maybe he wanted to set you up for a fall. I'd rather not know what went on in that sick head of his." There was a pause before he continued. "I can't believe you actually took the blame for him."

Zach shrugged. "I thought I was protecting my son. Protecting you." They both stared eye to eye.

"Going back to what I said earlier," Ethan began, "I did want your love and acknowledgement, but I know I didn't exactly make myself easy to love when I accused you of murder."

Zach paused for a moment before answering with a half-smile, "You're right, you didn't."

Ethan gave a half-smile in return. "Can we start over?"

Zach nodded. "I'd like that very much." Tears welled up in his eyes. "But I need to ask you, do you forgive me?"

Ethan nodded. "I forgave you when I saw you apologizing after the explosion." He paused before finally saying "I love you, Dad."

Zach smiled. Both of them were pretending there weren't tears falling down their cheeks. He bent down and embraced his son, his _live_ son, and kissed him on the temple. "I love you too, son, I do." Both privately vowed to never let go again.

Neither of them saw Simone look up at the ceiling and mouth "Thank you!" However, they figured she was doing it anyway.

When they separated Ethan asked the inevitable, "When can I go home?"

Simone and Zach looked at each other and sighed. And Ethan could tell it wasn't something he wanted to hear. Simone explained gently, "Ethan, they had to take out one of your kidneys and the other one is failing."

"What does that mean?" Ethan asked, not liking what he was hearing. "I'm going to need a kidney transplant?"

Zach quickly said, "Don't worry. You're getting one of mine once you've healed enough."

Ethan stared up at his father and wasn't sure what to say. "You're giving me a kidney?" His own feelings of guilt at having treated his father so badly and having kept Alex from him and everything Alex did and the love he was feeling for his father all kept him from expressing his gratitude.

Zach simply nodded understandingly, as if he had been reading Ethan's mind. Brushing the hair across his son's forehead, he said "You're going to be okay."

Simone reached for Zach's other hand while still holding Ethan's with her other and added, "We all are."

Ethan finally was able to say "Thank you" and managed a smile.

Zach smiled too. "Just get better quickly".

Ethan chuckled. "Trust me, I'll try." Simone and Zach had to grin as well.


	4. Sethan

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with All My Children or ABC. I am not making money off of this story.

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Kendall, who had come up to visit Ethan, along with Zach, both left at around midnight.

Simone and Ethan were alone in the room. Ethan had managed to sit up and was propped against some pillows. Simone held his hand tightly. "I still can't believe you're really alive."

Ethan smiled broadly at her. "Believe it."

"Alive and with me," Simone continued.

"Alive and with you." Ethan pulled her into a kiss and when their lips parted they held each other tightly.

After a moment, Ethan said while rubbing has face, "Thanks for the shave."

Simone just smiled. "I figured you'd like it. I hope I didn't miss a spot."

"'Doesn't look like you did."

"Is there anything else I can do?"

Ethan tilted his head back and looked up at the ceiling. The expression on his face changed. "If you can go back in time and make it so I didn't let Alex manipulate me I'll take it."

Simone stopped smiling. "That, I cannot do."

He looked straight at her. "I am so sorry…"

Simone didn't let him finish. "Don't do this to yourself."

"How can I not? This _is_ my fault. Alex nearly destroyed all of our lives because I let him…"

"You came around in the end. You knew Alex was crazy but he put a bullet in you before you could do anything to stop him."

After a second, Ethan opened his mouth to say something along the lines of a rebuttal but he ended up simply saying, "I love you."

Simone rubbed the side of Ethan's arm. "I love you, too."

Ethan managed to smile at her. "What did I do to deserve you? You're too good for me."

Simone smiled right back at him. "Let me decide that." They kissed again. "Seriously, is there anything I _can_ do for you? Can I get you anything?"

He held her hand. "Just stay here."

"That's what I was planning on doing anyway." They shared another kiss.

Another moment of silence passed. Ethan broke it. "I can't wait to get out of here. I just want to go home and put all of this behind me."

"That's fine by me. I just want to hold you forever and never let you go."

Ethan pulled his fiancé closer and she rested her head on his chest. "Once I get out of here I'm going to hold you to that." They both smiled.

Simone sat up. "What's the first thing you're going to do when you go home?"

Ethan sighed, thinking. "Take a shower," he answered. "No, forget that. The moment I can get out of this bed, I'm taking a shower. A bath would feel good right now."

Simone thought for a second, then said "I can help with that." She stood up and walked to the bathroom.

"What are you doing?"

From the bathroom she called "I'll be right back!"

A moment later, Simone came out of the bathroom with a bowl of water and a washcloth. "You said a bath would feel good right now."

Ethan smiled, then laughed. "Oh man." He shook his head. "I love you."

Simone sat at edge of Ethan's bed. "I love you, too." She helped him out of his hospital gown and after dipping the washcloth in the water starting washing her fiancé's back. Ethan closed his eyes, taking it all in. The lukewarm water and Simone's touch had never felt so good.

"Feel's good, hmm?" Simone asked, dipping the cloth in the water and washing Ethan's shoulder.

"Yeah." He sighed. "Gd you have no idea how much I missed you."

Simone looked at him in disbelief, the tone of her voice changing as she said"I think I do."

Ethan winced in self-annoyance, not believing what he had said. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. If anything, you suffered more." He looked over at Simone and saw she was clearly shaken. "Hey," he hugged her, "I'm sorry, I'm an idiot."

She shook her head, separating herself from him. "It's not that. Well…it got me thinking." She paused, then put on a fake smile and resumed bathing him, wanting to change the subject. "I almost forgot how handsome you were."

Ethan pulled her hand off his chest and held it tightly in front of him. "Look at me. What's wrong?"

Simone blinked back tears as she answered him. "I missed you, I thought I lost you." Her voice started to choke. "But you're here. You came back to me…I thought you were dead, but you weren't…"

Ethan hugged her again, beginning to understand. Simone hadn't fully dealt with _his_ death and now he was back alive. It was a lot to take in. "I'm here and I'm not leaving you again." He wiped the tears from her eyes and stared deeply into them. "I'm here," he repeated strongly.

Simone smiled briefly, then she took a deep breath. "Ethan, there's something I need to tell you."

He caressed her hair and smiled at her. "What is it?"

She didn't answer him for a second. "I'm pregnant."

Now it was Ethan's turn to not answer for a second. "You're…pregnant?" His smile started to expand but soon turned into a frown as it dawned on him why Simone wasn't happy about that. He slowly asked "It's Alex's, isn't it?" She nodded sadly. Ethan's eyes widened. "Wow," he sighed. After a brief moment of silence he asked, "How long have you known?"

"I took a home pregnancy test not even five minutes before Aidan called and told me you were alive."

"Wow," Ethan repeated. Simone hadn't even had time to deal with this either.

"What do you want to do?"

Ethan blinked in confusion. He hadn't expected Simone to ask him what he wanted to do. But then again, _he_ had to deal with it also. His fiancé was pregnant by his brother; but in that brief second that he thought it was his child, he was ecstatic. "Alex is my identical twin," he started, "so we have 99 percent the same genes. This baby is genetically as much mine as it is his." Neither of them said anything for a second. "I know you wanted this baby the moment you found out you were pregnant. Well I do too. It's going to be my child."

Simone looked down and took another deep breath. "When I found out I was pregnant, I thought…I had something of you left…" she wasn't sure what to say. "You're not upset about me and Alex?"

Immediately, Ethan pulled her to him, then gently said "How can you even ask me that? It wasn't your fault." _It was mine. He violated you and it's all my fault._ "This baby is a blessing."

Simone sat up and they both stared lovingly at each other. "I'm so happy you feel that way." They kissed.

"How can I feel anything but happy?" He paused, once again realizing he was going to be a father. A broad smile came onto his face. "We're going to be parents." He stared deeply at Simone. "I've got my life back."

Simone hugged the man she loved tightly. "So have I."

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Later that evening after she finished bathing Ethan, she crawled into bed with him. They were two lost souls who found each other. They fell asleep in a tight embrace.

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Author's Note: As I was touching up this chapter and writing Chapter 6, I went to Thorsten Kaye's website and downloaded the Zach clips from April 13th – the episode where Zach comforts Simone. Even though I had watched it before on the day it aired, I seriously cried when I watched it again just now. I guess I just miss what could have been with Sethan and what could have and should have been between Ethan and Zach.


	5. Zendall

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with All My Children or ABC. I am not making money off of this story.

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It was around midnight when Zach went home. Kendall gave him a ride.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" she asked when they reached his door.

"It's your call."

Kendall hugged him from behind. "I don't want to be alone."

"Neither do I." They entered his condo and plopped down on the sofa. Both of them exhausted and Zach emotionally spent from that day.

Kendall leaned against his shoulder and they both held each other for a few minutes not saying anything. But there was no need. Silence spoke louder than words.

But it always is inevitably broken. "I think I'm going to take a shower," Zach said.

Kendall lifted her head from his shoulder and said "alright". She sighed. "I'll wait out here."

Zach got up and went to the bathroom. After a moment, Kendall could hear the shower running.

Lost in her thoughts, she realized just how much she needed Zach. Forever and now, she couldn't wait. It was another few minutes though, before she finally got up the courage to get off the sofa and walk to the bathroom.

Zach, meanwhile, in the shower, didn't hear her enter. He didn't hear her take off her clothes either. He was facing the other direction when Kendall opened the curtain and joined him in the shower. He heard her then, but didn't turn around yet, feeling a little surprised that she joined him and perhaps even a little self-conscious. Kendall wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly, resting her head on his shoulder. After a few seconds he finally turned around and took her in his arms.

Neither of them let each other go for a minute. When they finally did, they still stood close together, but far enough so that they could drink in the sight of each other.

That's what they did; their eyes roamed each other's bodies. Now, as it had been earlier on the sofa, neither of them said anything, because in that moment silence spoke louder. Neither of them had ever been that naked before; they weren't just naked physically, they were naked in both heart and soul. For the first time they both could remember, they were completely naked in every sense of the word.

Zach's eyes roamed the length of Kendall's body; she was more beautiful than he imagined. He leaned closer to her shoulder, leaving a trail of hot kisses from her shoulder to her neck to her lips. From there, his hands worked their way across her body, caressing her arms, her breasts, and finally her now slightly visibly pregnant belly.

He broke the silence. "I was wondering when you'd start showing," he smiled. "You're beautiful," Kendall tilted her head so they could kiss again. "You're so beautiful."

Now it was her turn to roam his body. Oh was he ever handsome! Perfectly sculpted chest, abs, and she didn't even try to stifle a smile as her eyes passed his prominent manhood.

"You're not so bad looking yourself," Kendall replied lightheartedly. They both smiled at each other. And then Kendall gave him a playful shove. "I'm just kidding, you're handsome." She kissed him again. "Thank you."

They held each other close again. But then Zach remembered what Dr. Madden said. "Wait, we can't do this. What about the baby?"

Kendall shook her head. "It's alright. I had an appointment with a different doctor. There's nothing wrong. There's no reason why we can't…" her voice trailed off as she planted a deep torrid kiss on the man she loved.

They were silent again for a little while, just letting the water fall on them. "I don't want our first time to be in the shower," Zach said, turning off the water. He then reached outside the shower curtain and grabbed two towels, wrapping himself at the waist with one and wrapping the other around Kendall.

He stepped out of the shower, and before he could give Kendall a chance to get out herself, he lifted her into his arms and carried her back to the bedroom. By the time he reached the bed, both towels had been forgotten on the floor.

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Zach and Kendall lay on the bed, the comforter sitting at their waists. Kendall rested her head on Zach's chest, and Zach wrapped his arm around her shoulders, caressing her arms and her back. Both were quiet, unable to speak after the blissful passion they just shared.

A few moments later Kendall spoke, "Zach, I don't want this night to end."

"How come?"

Still resting on his chest, she turned her head to look over at him and replied, "Today was perfect. I don't want it to ever be over."

He smiled at her. "I feel the same." Taking a deep sigh, he continued "I couldn't have asked for a better day."

Kendall could tell from Zach's eyes that he was lost in thought. She lifted her head and inched herself up to meet Zach's on the pillow, wrapping her arms around him and he did the same.

It was another moment before Zach said, "It can be like this always."

She looked into his eyes. "Are you asking me to marry you?"

He nodded. "Yes."

It was a second before Kendall replied. She was trying to think of the best way answer him. "I'll marry you Zach." They both smiled. "I'll marry you."

"I love you Kendall Hart." They melted into another passionate kiss.

"And I love you Zach Slater."

Zach reached for the comforter and covered himself and Kendall. "It's getting chilly," he said.

She snuggled closer. "I love you."

"I love you, too." They soon fell asleep, locked in a tight embrace, as two lost souls who had finally found each other and who would never let go again.


	6. Author's Note

Thank you all so much for reading my story. Unfortunately, I am having a severe case of writer's block and am having difficulty creating a chapter 6. Chapter 7 (and a possible chapter 8) are already in my head, but without a clear transition I can't work on chapter 6. I have two possible routes I want to go on chapter 6, but am having trouble writing either one. I considered simply doing an epilogue, but that just wouldn't work either. I hope to come back to the story once I get over my writer's block, but for now I will mark it as complete.

For everyone who read my story before I updated, I want to let you know (in case you haven't reread the chapters) that I made some changes to every chapter. Mostly just grammatical corrections, but I made some content changes in chapter 3. I also added a Sethan chapter 4. (By the way, I'm surprised no one caught the Bobby Martin joke at the end of chapter 2 :)

Thanks again everyone for bearing with me!


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